Why didn't Africans ride zebras?

Generally, zebras are too cantankerous to ride. They are vicious and unpredictable and it takes a lot of effort to train them to a stage where you can saddle or harness them. That is why they have never been domesticated. Lord Lionel Walter Rothschild, however, managed to harness a team of four zebras to pull his carriage, which he rode from his zoological museum in Tring, in the English county of Hertfordshire, to Buckingham Palace.

Georgina Hickey, Nature Australia magazine, Canberra

Zebras are insane. They are very violent towards humans. If you tried to ride one, it would kill you. Just because they look like horses, doesn't mean they have to act like one.

David Mahoney, Blacktown

The zebra has a very weak vertebral column that can't support weight of any kind. This is why it has never been used as a beast of burden or a carrier of even smaller Africans.

Caroline Carey, Toowoomba

Why can't colour-blind people be accepted into the police force?

Individuals who have defective colour vision may risk making errors in the interpretation or subtle descriptions of colour. They may also have a reduced capacity to carry out the search functions required of police officers. These errors may in time become the cause of doubt, leading to a possible loophole for a criminal to escape conviction. With regard to safety, a red-defective police officer may be subject to a higher risk of accident by reason of a failure to see red lights sufficiently quickly or at the appropriate time; have a reduced visual range of recognition of orange traffic lights; or be at risk of making errors in the recognition of signal colour.

David Buley, Seaforth

Because they won't be able to catch anyone red-handed.

Yvonne Lee, Neutral Bay

Why are uncooked sausages straight, but become bent when cooked?

There are two types of sausage skins. The first, with natural casings, are made out of sheep or pig intestines. Being natural, they are uneven in wall thickness and they always bend when cooked due to this unevenness. The butcher also ties them in uneven lengths. They are never straight, when cooked or raw.

The second type is a manufactured casing. When the cattle skins are removed from the beast, the inside layer of the skin is split off, mixed, emulsified and processed through, would you believe, what is called a "wanking" machine. The casings are extruded to very long lengths, dried and sold in boxes. When made into sausages they never bend, when cooked or raw. This makes them much favoured by supermarkets because they can be cut to exact lengths for packaging.

Kaye Vild, Bundanoon (former sausage factory worker)

Any answers?

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- Why do we refer to dead people as "the late"? What are they late for?

- Why can't people live together in love peace and happiness?

- Why did we all learn algebra at school? Did those teachers think we would use it for anything, or was it just out of spite?

- Has a man ever started a genuine relationship with a woman by "wolf whistling" at her?

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